1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally concerns holders and dispensers of bits for rotary tools, including drill bits and drive bits for portable handheld electric drills.
The present invention particularly concerns systems for holding each of a number of interchangeable bits and/or drills for handheld electric drills when not in use, and also for holding a selected bit or drill in use within the handheld electric drill, especially when there is some form or cooperative interaction between the holding of the bits and/or drills not in use and the holding of the bit or drill in use so that a particular bit presently held the electric drill may be de-selected while a new bit or drill may be newly selected and become held to the electric drill.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Holders serving to adapt drills, and driver bits such as serve to drive screws and nuts, to the chucks of electric drills are quite common. Some have sliding and/or twisting elements which permit quick mounting of a selected drill, or driver, bit to the holder, and thus to the chuck of the drill.
Likewise, the exist various retainers and containers, often as are portable and sometimes as may be mounted to the belt and/or tool belt of a workman, for holding drills and/or drive bits while not in use. These retainers and containers will sometimes service to hold, normally in a vertically erect position, a drill or a driver bit while it is preliminarily entered directly into the bore of the chuck of an electric drill, of into a holder that is itself mounted to the chuck of an electric drill (and thus indirectly into the bore of the chuck). Conversely, a drill or a driver bit that is mounted in the chuck of an electric drill, or in a holder that is itself mounted in the chuck of an electric drill, can be, while still so mounted, entered into some retainers and holders of drills and driver bits.
However, both for holders and retainers/containers, the extent of any interaction or coaction has been limited to (i) preserving alignments, (ii) feeding a drill or driver bit to be mounted (in the case of loading the chuck of the drill), or (iii) receiving a drill or driver bit to be dismounted (in the case of unloading the chuck of the drill). The actual, final, step of tightening the mount of a new drill or driver bit, or loosing the mounting of an old drill or driver bit, is realized (i) by use of the hand (including with “keyless” chucks), (ii) by use of a tool, such as a chuck key, held by the hand. Thus one hand normally holds the electric drill while the other hand tends to at least a final unsecuring of an old drill or driver bit, or the securing of a drill or driver bit, to the chuck of the electric drill (or, equivalently, to a holder mounted in the drill's chuck).
The present invention will be seem to function differently, and to permit of an interaction and a coaction between, on the one hand, (i) a holder, mounted to the chuck of an electric drill, of a drill or a drive bit, and, on the other hand, (ii) a retainer or container in which typically many drills and/or drive bits not currently in use for drilling or driving (as the case may be) are stored. The interaction and a coaction will be seen to realize, among other advantages, that a drill or driver bit may be both mounted to, and de-mounted from an electric drill totally by the use of but one hand, which hand remains grasping the handle of the electric drill.